Dear friends,
As 2022 unfolds, we are dizzied by all that has been going on here since we last updated you. Still, we want to bring you along on the journey we are on as we seek to join God’s work of holistic transformation in the refugee community of Athens.
A short update
August was a difficult month, as we and our friends here were overwhelmed with emotions concerning the situation in Afghanistan.
In September, we were able to make a new start in a new ministry building. By New Year’s, we had really started to feel at home there and Allie was excited to help the girls from art class have ownership and contribute something of themselves to the space. All seemed well, until… we got the sudden news, mid-January, that we would have to leave the building by the end of the month. The church we were renting from had unexpectedly lost the contract. It was a hard blow for us, and even more for the art class girls. In the midst of an unstable world with so many uncertainties, we had hoped for the art classroom to be a stable place for them.
Fortunately, we’ve been able to find a temporary ministry home in a nearby church building while actively looking for a place to rent for ourselves.
We knew the time would come that we would have to find our own building, but this transition has pushed us into the process sooner than we expected! It is exciting, but also a challenge to first find a space for 1-2 years, big enough and in our budget to accommodate the growth in our team and ministry, while also making steps towards purchasing a space in the future.
For now, we are looking for a space to rent together with the Greek Multicultural Church which we have been attending for about half a year. It’s a small, dynamic fellowship with people from many different countries worshiping together in Greek, English and Farsi - and a lovely community to invite some of our Afghan and Iranian friends into.
In the meantime, Allie has gathered a consistent new group of girls in art class, bringing them through a set of basic art lessons about color, form and perspective in preparation for more difficult topics like portrait painting. Some days are dedicated to talking together about life questions the girls are dealing with - how to deal with different cultures, conflicts with parents, depression and mental health, and the role of our beliefs and values in our lives. We were reminded again of the urgency of these issues, when we received news recently that one the girls’ friends committed suicide. She had been subject to abuse and oppression at home, and saw no other way out. Our friends were devastated, and that night we dropped everything to visit them and support them. It can be discouraging to be faced again with the brokenness and dysfunction in our communities and systems.
We continue to work together to get to know the “whole family” as much as we can. The importance of connecting with the parents has become clear for us many times, and we are looking for ways to be more intentional about this. It can look like home visits, one on one meetings, and art projects (see below) that involve parents. We are always grateful when the families we work with can be plugged into the larger community of partners we have in Athens - transformation happens in community.
Henk continues to work with teenage guys, though the form of the ministry has changed. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to continue our partnership with the organization that started the football club, and the coach Henk worked with closely left the country. Now, he is focusing on meeting with these young guys in other ways, through hikes and outings, game nights and one-on-one meetings. Here also life questions come up, and we are learning how to better address these topics while respecting each other and the diversity of (very vocal) opinions that exist in the group.
Art Class Projects
This winter the art class focused on learning about different holidays. On the class Instagram page they shared about the traditions surrounding their winter solstice holiday Yalda.
One of the students, Setara, remembered a story that was passed orally from grandmother to granddaughter in her family. With the help of Setara’s mom, the class recorded the story and illustrated it (see the video below).
The students enjoyed sharing their culture together and learning about Greek Christmas traditions, and were excited to discover through their research that Yalda is connected to Christmas (Yalda means “Birth” in Syriac and was brought to Persia by early Christians fleeing persecution).
Recently an article was published about the Art Class and their Yalda project by Anthrow Circus, an arts and culture website. You can check out the article here:
Instagram: @tillwehavefaces_art
Q: How was it for you to work with your friends on your family’s story about Yalda?
“It was amazing.
They were so kind, and you know it was a special story and I worked so hard on it and they worked so hard on it.
They put a lot of time for the art and for sharing my story — they tried so hard. It was so amazing for me.
I was so happy that they helped me.”
Q: What did you think about the Yalda projects?
“In our culture we have a lot of things, it is so important to learn about it.
I grew up in Iran, I know the culture of Iran more, it is easy for me.
But when Iranians know I am Afghan, they say you are not Iranian, you are Afghan.
When I talk to people who were born in Afghanistan, they say you don’t know it, you are not Afghan.
It is important for me to be from Afghanistan.
If I am from Afghanistan I have to know my culture, it is part of my identity.
Just like they have in other countries, like in America or Europe, you need to know your identity, your culture, so you can be proud of yourself.
I was so happy to learn from the other girls and their parents, and to listen to my community, I have to learn from them.
When we left Afghanistan and went to Iran, my parents tried to be Iranian so that it would be easier for us, their children.
When we did these Yalda projects, us girls from Afghanistan and from Iran we understood we have some of the same things.
Some families have different stories, some families didn’t do very much for Yalda, or forgot how to celebrate.
But now we all learn from each other.”
To donate specifically to the activities with teenagers, please click below: